Israel’s gun policy called validation of NRA’s argument

by WorldTribune Staff, February 20, 2018

In 1974, Palestinian terrorists took more than 100 students hostage at an Israeli school in the town of Ma’alot, killing 26 and wounding 68.

Following the attack, Israel passed a law mandating armed security in schools, provided weapons training to teachers and continues to run frequent active shooter drills.

‘The overwhelming majority of terror attacks in Israel are stopped by armed civilians.’ / Getty Images

“There have been only two school shootings since then, and both have ended with teachers killing the terrorists,” columnist Tzvi Lev wrote in a Feb. 15 op-ed for Arutz Sheva.

Israel’s policy on civilian ownership of firearms “is living proof of the arguments the American gun lobby has been making for years,” Lev wrote.

“The overwhelming majority of terror attacks in Israel are stopped by armed civilians, not law enforcement,” Lev wrote. “The terrorists in the 2016 Sarona market attack were stopped by armed passersby. A pistol-carrying tour guide put an end to the 2017 ramming attack in Arnona that left four soldiers dead.”

Terrorists “have told the Shin Bet internal security service that they often target haredi Jews due to the high likelihood that they are unarmed,” Lev wrote.

“Gun rights advocates contend that the way to stop mass shootings is by ensuring that there are always well-armed citizens present who can neutralize the shooter.”

NRA chairman Wayne Lapierre says, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

The NRA says that since criminals will always be able to get guns illegally, new gun control laws will only render law-abiding citizens defenseless.

“Gun control supporters would answer that the mandatory military service that every Israeli undergoes justifies the trust Israel has of its citizens,” Lev wrote. “However, this argument doesn’t hold water. The vast majority of IDF soldiers aren’t combat soldiers and are certified as 02 riflemen. To be 02 requires one to shoot between 40 and 70 bullets. The pistol course needed to obtain a license takes less than four hours. It is a far cry from the highly trained population that the Left imagines.”

Lev continued: “Gun control has been proven to be a dismal failure in Israel. The Israeli Arab communities are rife with illegal weapons, with some police estimates putting the number of unlicensed weapons in the Arab sector as high as 500,000. Think about that for a second: The most heavily guarded borders in the world and a highly professional Shin Bet are still not enough to prevent criminals from obtaining illegal firearms.”


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